In multiple-circuit electrical connectors, of the kind used in great variety and numbers in telephone systems and in other communication and data handling systems, the usual method of connecting the individual circuit conductors to a connector unit has been to strip the insulation from the end of the conductor wire and then solder the conductor to a connector contact. This technique requires considerable skill on the part of the workman making the solder connections, particularly in miniaturized connectors and especially when field connections are required. Whether the connections are made in a shop location or in the field, there is always some tendency to bridge adjacent contacts of the connectors, during the soldering operation, producing incorrect and undesired circuit connections.
An alternative to the conventional soldered connection, gaining increasingly in acceptance, entails the use of insulation-piercing self-connection terminals on the contact members used in connector units. These insulation-piercing terminals are usually of forked construction with cutting edges that penetrate the insulation on the conductor wires and that also serve as contact jaws which make the necessary electrical connection from the connector contact to the conductor. With this type of contact terminal, in an electrical connector unit, stripping of the insulation from the conductor is eliminated, along with soldering; the forked terminal element serves both as an insulation cutter and as an electrical contact.
With most previously known connectors utilizing insulation-piercing contact terminals, each conductor wire must be mounted in place in a separate operation. In many instances, it is quite difficult for the workman making the connector installation to maintain all of the previously completed connections while making additional connections; unless separate means are provided for holding each circuit conductor in place after connection is completed, the conductors may easily be displaced while new connections are being made. This is particularly true in the crowded conditions present with miniaturized connectors. Consequently, in most instances it has been necessary to provide individual retainers of one kind or another, requiring a separate operation by the workman for each conductor, in order to assure effective and positive connections for all of the circuit conductors.
The insulation-piercing contact members and the supporting dielectric structures utilized in previously known connector units have not been well adapted to symmetrical contact arrangements. Usually, in connectors in which a substantial number of electrical connections are to be completed, the connector contacts have been arranged in just one or two rows, necessitating the use of elongated connector configurations. For many applications, however, it is preferable to provide substantially symmetrical connector units, particularly where space is at a premium. Moreover, in most of the known constructions, the components for both the plug and receptacle units of a complete connector have required the use of distinctively different component parts. In particular, the dielectric supports for the electrical contacts have been completely different, adding materially to manufacturing costs.